2005/06-2007/08 Service Plan Update -- Ministry of Labour and Citizens Services

Labour aligns to all of the Five Great Goals because its policies and services affect every citizen and worker in the province, whether unionized or non-unionized. Of key relevance to Labour’s mission is the government goal to create more jobs per capita than anywhere else in Canada.

The most important asset for any small business is its people. That’s why the Government of B.C. has been working to make it easier for small business employers to hire and keep the right people and build good working relationships with employees. That includes:

The following pages provide an overview of key goals for each core business area, the strategies that will be used to meet these goals and the measures that will be used to determine progress. During the next three years, Labour’s resources will be focused on achieving the goals and objectives set out here. These goals and objectives are consistent with the vision of a modern work environment for British Columbians that treats employees and employers fairly and equitably, increases productivity and contributes to the prosperity of British Columbia. Each goal listed below is related to one of Labour’s core business areas.

Labour Performance Plan Summary

Ensuring British Columbia has fair and balanced standards that promote mutually beneficial relationships between employees and employers is integral to government’s goal of promoting a strong and vibrant provincial economy.

Strategies:

Performance Measures	2004/05 Actuals	2005/06 Target	2006/07 Target	2007/08 Target
Complaints received by ESB.¹	5,015	<5,015 indicating the success of prevention and early intervention initiatives.
Speaking engagements, training sessions and seminars.²	77 sessions	>77 sessions indicating increased emphasis on education as a means of promoting awareness.
Average monthly ESB website hits.	353,999	Constant or increased public usage of the ESB website indicating increasing level of knowledge and awareness.
Percentage of workforce working in industries covered by sector specific initiatives.³	10.4%	>10.4% indicating ESB’s emphasis on measures that foster mutual co-operation.
Contraventions within industries covered by sector specific initiatives.⁴	293	NA	NA	TBD


¹	90 – 95% of all complaints received by the Employment Standards Branch (ESB) have been found to have merit.
²	As the public becomes more aware of entitlements and obligations under the Employment Standards Act, the number of requests for speaking engagements decreases. Since the changes to the Employment Standards Act in 2002, the focus of the Employment Standards Branch has been on the new service delivery process and educating Branch staff rather than outreach to the public. Education of the workforce impacted by sector specific initiatives will become a priority for the Branch in 2005/06.
³	Initiatives may include partnership agreements, such as Memoranda of Understanding, or targeted enforcement operations. These partnership agreements are designed to foster mutual co-operation and communication between government, industry and employees and also protect vulnerable employees while increasing prosperity in the workplace. For 2004/05, data is calculated by dividing the number of persons working in the restaurant and food services industry and the primary agricultural production sector by the total number of paid employees working in British Columbia.
⁴	It is anticipated that the number of contraventions within industries covered by sector specific initiatives will increase over the short to medium term as the knowledge and awareness of employment standards increases. Over the longer term, however, it is anticipated that the number of contraventions will decrease as employers and employees mutually develop a better understanding of employment standards.

Objective 2:

Strategies:

Performance Measures	2004/05 Actuals	2005/06 Target	2006/07 Target	2007/08 Target
Self-help kit downloads.¹	35,542	NA	NA	NA
Proportion of cases closed prior to adjudication.	78%	>78% indicating increased reliance on and the effectiveness of alternative dispute resolution efforts.
Timeliness of cases addressed prior to adjudication.²	New measure³	Development of base and measure	TBD	TBD


¹	The self-help kit was a new concept developed and produced during 2003/04 generating much interest. The public has familiarized itself with the kit, and the number of kits downloaded has decreased.
²	It is the policy of the Employment Standards Branch to ensure that cases involving wages owed receive priority consideration.
³	By 2005 the Employment Standards Branch will have a new computer system in place that will provide detailed timeliness data. It is a fundamental objective of the Branch to reduce the number of days to resolve cases prior to adjudication.

Objective 3:

Strategy:

Performance Measures	2004/05 Actuals	2005/06 Target
Days lapsed from appeal or reconsideration to disposition (average).¹	90	90 days
Per cent of cases decided within 90 days of date of appeal.	73%	73%
Per cent of decisions received within 20 days of assignment to a Member of the Tribunal.	90%	90%
Per cent of reconsideration request decisions that confirm the original appeal decision.	85%	85%

This goal supports overall government priorities to ensure labour stability in the province and provide the foundation for strong and vibrant provincial economic development and employment growth.

Strategies:

Strategy:

Performance Measures	2004/05 Actuals	2005/06 Target	2006/07 Target	2007/08 Target
Average number of backlog cases.¹	37	<37 indicating improved timeliness in resolving cases.
Average number of days from receipt of application to decision.	New measure introduced in 2005/06 Service Plan — data collection underway.	Base data	Decrease over base indicating improved timeliness in issuing decisions.

This goal is key to supporting government’s goals of promoting healthy communities and a strong and vibrant provincial economy.